Edinboro has experience but needs backs to step up

Friday

Edinboro put together its third straight winning season in 2018 with six wins.

The Fighting Scots were just a few plays away from making a good season a great one.

Among Edinboro's five losses were a 40-35 loss at California (Pa.), a 13-6 loss to No. 22 IUP and a 33-32 loss against No. 21 Kutztown.

With an experienced offense and strong defense back, the Scots are looking to go from being good to being a contender in the PSAC West.

"We need to take care of our local rivals, which is always a great season to get through Gannon, Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock with a winning record," said Edinboro third-year coach Wayne Bradford. "We want to win at home, and we've been pretty successful at home. We have to play great defense and give people a great show."

One of the biggest question marks coming into the season is in the backfield. Walter Fletcher transferred in the offseason to Division I Ball State, where he already has a touchdown catch.

Edinboro had no running backs returning this season and will turn to freshman Dorian Woody out of Forest Hill (Md.), which is just north of Baltimore, with another true freshman behind him in Bishop McDevitt graduate C.J. Reyes-Diggs. He ran for 79 yards on 17 carries against Cathedral Prep in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals last fall.

Tomko on top

Sharon graduate Andrew Tomko had a roller-coaster 2018 season. He earned the starting job at quarterback in camp, put together several solid performances, had some minor injuries and ended up being replaced in the backfield toward the end of the season by Jarrod Kellar.

Tomko, a redshirt junior, was 88-of-186 for 1,433 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with 13 interceptions. Kellar came in and completed 78-of-161 for 817 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Kellar was classified as a junior last year but graduated and is not playing this season.

Tomko is back as the starting quarterback after holding off a challenge from California (Pa.) transfer Jordan Castelli, a redshirt sophomore.

"Last year showed me to keep working as hard as I can because at any given moment, anything can happen," Tomko said. "An injury could happen or another guy could go in. I just have to keep working hard."

"I knew I was transferring from California last fall, and I was looking at different schools," Castelli said. "My high school coach talked to coach Bradford for me and told me to call him for a visit. I really liked everything about the school and the program and came up here in the spring. It has been great, and Andrew has taught me a lot about the offense."

Despite a young and inexperienced set of running backs, Tomko will have some weapons on the outside with Cathedral Prep graduate Ta'Nauz Gregory and Grove City graduate A.J. Turner.

"I feel like I've grown a lot more and adjusted to the speed of college football," said Turner, a tight end. "It has been tough adjusting to the classroom and playing football, but I feel like the growth is exponential."

Gregory caught 50 passes for 796 yards and 10 touchdowns last fall, while Turner had 13 catches for 316 yards and four touchdowns. The two will be counted on with the graduation of James Clark. Kahlil Jackson and Andre Dowdell also will start at wide receiver. The offensive line returns Vitaliy Gurman, who is moving from center to left tackle, while Kyle Schreiner and Ryan Pasternak are returning starters at guard. Justin Kasmierski started four games last year and will start at right tackle this season.

One of the biggest lessons Turner learned since coming to Edinboro is to help in the run game to open up the field.

"You always want to be that guy catching touchdown passes, but you have to knock yourself down and realize it's not all about you," Turner said. "You realize opening up the run game can help everything. I wasn't really incorporated into the run game in high school, but blocking in college makes you feel like you helped out and you did your job."

Senior leadership

The Edinboro defense will start just two seniors this year, but both will be important as leaders of the team. Brandon Anderson is a two-time all-PSAC selection that led the team with 101 tackles last year. He returns at strong safety for his redshirt senior year, and Sims is back as a senior nickelback.

"We're coming back even stronger on defense. We lost two big pieces in Zuril Hendrick and Derek Dorr, but we'll be fine," Anderson said. "The biggest thing for me is to show the guys how to practice the right way and enjoy the process to take care of everything. The little details will get us where we need to go."

Edinboro was sixth in the PSAC with 338.5 yards allowed per game, including 125.3 rushing yards allowed per game, which was sixth in the league and 213.3 passing yards allowed per game.

"We have a lot of leadership back with the returning players, and the expectations are high," Sims said. "We have to live up to them and compete. The big thing is leading by example and being vocal with a lot of positivity."

The Fighting Scots were fifth in Division II last year with 19 interceptions and fourth in the country in turnovers gained. Billy DePaul started 10 games at free safety last year and is a returning starter, while junior DeAndre Dowdell started five games last year and will start at cornerback.

Edinboro returns its starting linebackers, including Connor Kelly at Mike linebacker and Ryan Bischof at Will linebacker.

"Defense is huge and it wins championships," Bischof said. "The defense is our strong suit with a lot of returning players. The chemistry is there with the new guys and we have a lot of trust in each other."

Tarique Smith and Derian Smith will start at defensive end with Bishop Simmons at noseguard and Meadville graduate Barrett Hoffman at defensive tackle. Smith is a transfer from Lackawanna Junior College, while Hoffman saw considerable playing time last year.

Tom Reisenweber can be reached at 870-1707 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNreisenweber.

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